Are The Sabres Scrambling To Make A Big Splash In The Aftermath Of The Hellebuyck Trade?

The Buffalo Sabres have struggled for most of the month of October, whether it has been falling behind early in contests, to struggling on special teams, to inconsistent scoring and goaltending, the club held a .500 record prior to their 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. 

GM Jarmo Kekalainen was unable or unwilling to meet the Winnipeg Jets price for goalie Connor Hellebuyck prior to his trade to New Jersey last week, but there have been some hints that the Sabres GM is still big-game hunting. The first to suggest a pivot after Hellebuyck to another big name was Expected Buffalo’s Chad DeDominicis, who stated that the Sabres should and have approached the Detroit Red Wings about disgruntled center Dylan Larkin.  

Larkin, who was a teammate of Tage Thompson on Team USA’s gold medal winning Olympic squad, requested a trade from the Wings after the season and provided them a very narrow three-team trade list, which has recently been broadened to 10 teams. 

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Clubs that are in desperate need of a first or second line center, such as the Montreal Canadiens, are not on Larkin’s list, and the Sabres are also not on it. The 10 teams seem to be exclusively perennial playoff clubs and top contenders for the Stanley Cup (Carolina, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vegas, and Washington).

Montreal has made the playoffs two years in a row, but there appears to be little chance that Larkin would approve a deal to a Canadian club. Buffalo may have a better chance, but their slow start after snapping their 15-year playoff drought may be pouring cold water on their chances, since the whole purpose of leaving Detroit is to improve his chances of winning a Stanley Cup. The Wings have not made the postseason since 2016. 

The Sabres appear to have the right ingredients for a Larkin trade, as the Wings reportedly are looking for young centers, and Buffalo has them in abundance in Noah Ostlund, Konsta Helenius, and Jiri Kulich. The question is whether Kekalainen is willing to trade one of them instead of names like Josh Norris or Ryan McLeod, and whether Larkin is willing to expand his list. 

It is thought that the Devils, with the addition of Hellebuyck, and the growing possibility of Quinn Hughes joining his brothers in Newark next summer, could be the dark horse in the race for the 30-year-old.    

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